Once again, our calendar for the fall overfloweth. And, that’s just with my older son. Cub Scouts, our mid-week ministry at our church, piano lessons, baseball practice and games…and that’s not even touching homework and chores. Throw into the mix my husband’s frequent business trips, my younger son’s preschool and gymnastics schedule, and my insane world of three jobs, a bunko group, church choir, and teaching a parenting class at our church, and you have the makings for a bit of stress.

While there isn’t a whole lot we can do about it now, there is something we can do in the future. That is, we can plan our rest. Now, that might seem silly, but being the overplanner I am, it is necessary. And, it is VERY easy to do.

Our schedule is posted on the refrigerator. I have a monthly calendar that puts each person on their own column, and at a glance I can see who needs to be where and when. I know of others who use different colored pens on their calendars to denote each person’s events. There are tons of ways to organize your family’s busy schedule.

To plan a “rest” for my family, I take a dark pencil (and always in pencil because, while I don’t like to eliminate our rest time, sometimes things happen and you have to make changes) and I shade in whatever day will be our rest days. This fall, our “rest” is on Fridays after school. That’s our family time, our down time. Last Spring, our “rest” was on Tuesdays. It can vary, you can take more than one day, but the important thing is to take it. Make it a point not to schedule meetings or playdates or anything on those days.

That doesn’t mean you don’t do ANYTHING. Sometimes, we go to our nearby zoo. Other times, we piddle around the house or head to a local park. The point is to spend time together and not running back and forth to one event or another.

I hope your family finds lots of time to rest when things get crazy, whether you have to schedule it or not. If you can’t enjoy each other, then what is all of it for?